ANDOVER — Friday night’s first round state tournament victory for Andover High was a carbon copy of its season as a whole.
Start off red-hot.
Go in a tailspin.
Regain composure and come through in the clutch.
The No. 6 seed Golden Warriors saw an early nine-point lead evaporate on Friday. But behind big shots by Owen Crowley and Josh Roux — and impeccable defense — Andover opened things up in the second half to defeat No. 27 BC High, 67-56, in a Division 1 Round of 32 contest played before a standing room only crowd.
“They stymied us a bit at the beginning and we were down eight,” said Andover head coach Dave Fazio, whose team will host No. 11 Braintree, a 79-65 winner over Lexington, in the Round of 16 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
“We called a timeout and I said to my seniors, ‘Your legacy is on the line. What do you want to be remembered for? Are we going to cave in the round of 32 when we have (the talent) to be a Final Four team. Is this what we want to be remembered as or are we going to fight?’ We responded with two (defensive) steals, brought it to two (points) and then hit a big three.”
Crowley, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, was incredible all night. He finished with 24 points and also had three steals. He scored 14 of his points in the first half, including four treys. His last one from beyond the arc came before the buzzer went off, with the ball hitting the rim, before popping up in the air and falling through the net.
“He was the best player on the court, the best player. Big players make big plays in big games and that kid made a lot of big plays tonight,” said Fazio.
Last year Crowley was at Bradford Christian Academy before transferring. The start of his Andover career got off to a great start, including scoring 31 points in a win over Beverly and being named to the All-Tournament team during the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic.
After that he missed 2.5 weeks due to a shoulder injury, followed by the flu big which kept him out eight days. He has come back healthy and with a vengeance, especially in the tourney opener.
“I started off a little bit slow and missed some shots. I just tried to keep my confidence up,” said Crowley, the nephew of Lowell High girls coach Matt Crowley. “I knew that my team needed me so I just kept shooting. I hit some shots and that helped keep my confidence up.”
His buzzer beater gave the Golden Warriors (15-6) a one-point lead at the break. He had just four points in the third quarter, before executing on two big shots in the fourth to push the team’s lead to double figures. The first came on a pass from Sam Concemi, before an impressive drive to the basket, putting the ball behind his back, before laying it in off the glass.
“The last two weeks all we have done is work on passing,” said Crowley. “And we did a great job of that tonight. It definitely felt good to help my team, especially down the stretch but overall it’s a great team win. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Two of his teammates, Roux (17) and Concemi (15 points, 9 assists) also finished in double figures.
Fazio said that this is just the beginning for Crowley.
“Finally he is healthy and he’s going to be someone to reckon with as we can continue to go (in this tournament),” said Fazio. “He can play and he’s just confident.”
Andover 67, BC High 56
BC: James Jones 9-1-19, Julian Sustache 7-2-19, Jacob Seyfried 3-0-7, Owen Adams 1-0-3, Alex Hernandez 2-1-5, Chesi Buliro 1-0-3. Totals: 23-4-56.
Andover: Joshua Roux 6-2-17, Owen Crowley 8-4-24, Sam Concemi 6-2-15, Charles Tutwiler 2-0-4, Cameron Gath 1-0-2, Owen Foley 2-0-5. Totals: 25-8-67.
Halftime: Andover 30-29; 3-pointers: BC, Sustache 3, Seyfried, Adams and Buliro; A, Crowley 4, Roux 3, Concemi and Foley. Records: BC 9-13; Andover 15-6.